Positive behaviour support worker volunteer roles in Manchester
Organisation: Manchester Young Lives
Locations: MYL Adventure Playgrounds (Wythenshawe, Moss Side, and Ardwick)
Time Commitment: Minimum one evening per week (3hrs)
Reporting to: Play and Youth Manager
Main contact: children, young people, staff/volunteers, parents/carers, partner agencies
We have several volunteering opportunities across our programmes.
- Play sessions: 4pm and 6pm (ages 6 to 13 years)
- Youth sessions: 6:30pm–8:30pm (ages 11 to 18 years
- Holiday playschemes: 12pm to 4pm (school holidays)
About the Charity
Manchester Young Lives is a charitable organisation dedicated to supporting children and young people aged 6–18years to develop confidence, wellbeing, and positive life skills. We provide safe, inclusive spaces where children and young people can play, learn, socialise, volunteer, grow and learn life skills through the power of play and youth work approaches.
Main purpose of the role
The Volunteer Play and Youth Worker will work both indoors and outdoors as a part of the team to support the delivery of play-based and youth activities for children and young people aged 6 to 18 years. Working alongside staff and other volunteers, the role helps create a safe, engaging, and supportive environment that promotes fun, learning, social and personal development.
Key Responsibilities
- Support the preparation and running of play and youth sessions to provide a varied, safe and stimulating environment in both indoor and outdoor settings.
- Help create a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment for all participants
- Build positive, age-appropriate relationships with children and young people
- Encourage participation, teamwork, creativity, and positive behaviour
- Support children and young people with a wide range of needs, abilities, and backgrounds
- Assist with setting up, organising, and tidying activity spaces and equipment
- Work collaboratively with staff and volunteers to ensure sessions run smoothly
- Adhere to MYL policies and procedures in particular safeguarding, Health and safety, confidentiality, equality, diversity and inclusion.
Skills and Experience
Essential
- A genuine interest in working with children and young people aged 6–18 years
- Friendly, reliable, and approachable
- Ability to work well as part of a team
- Good communication and listening skills
Desirable
- Experience working with children or young people (voluntary or paid)
- Understanding of play work, youth work, or community-based work
- Creative, sporting, or practical skills to support activities
- Basic awareness of safeguarding and child protection
Personal Qualities
- Enthusiastic and positive
- Patient, caring, and supportive
- Respectful of diversity and inclusion
- Willing to learn and follow guidance
Training and Support
- Full induction into the charity and its services
- Volunteer training programme provided
- Ongoing support and supervision
What You’ll Gain
- Opportunities to develop skills and gain experience in play and youth work
- Work experience and training opportunities
- Hands-on experience working with children and young people
- The opportunity to make a real difference in young people’s lives
- A volunteer reference after an agreed period (usually 6 months)
Manchester Young Lives is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. The highest priority is given to following guidance and regulations to safeguard children and young people.
Volunteers are required to undergo safer recruitment checks including an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
The Africa Health Organisation (AHO) seeks to engage in bidding and tendering to deliver health and social care services effectively. Our goal is to ensure sustainability and positively impact the lives of more people. We want assistance in developing an ambitious strategy.
What will you be doing?
We are excited to announce an incredible opportunity for a talented Head of Bids and tenders to join our passionate team at the Africa Health Organisation (AHO)! Since 1999, we've been dedicated to delivering health and social care to millions across Africa and the Diaspora, and now we're ready to further elevate our impact.
This year, we're embarking on a mission to broaden our funding strategy by incorporating bid and tender submissions. Our goal is to engage with governments in Africa and the UK, the public sector, and the public, providing essential, practical, and emotional support to those facing chronic conditions. We need a visionary like you to help us achieve our goals.
We're seeking a dynamic, experienced Head of Bids to develop and execute a winning strategy to secure the necessary financial backing. There are numerous exciting possibilities ahead, including central government tenders, local and statutory opportunities. We're eager to explore them all.
In this pivotal role, you'll plan and execute our bids and tender writing efforts, ensuring that our bid proposals not only shine but also come to life in meaningful ways. If you're a bid writer who thrives on creativity and collaboration, we want to hear from you! Additionally, you'll have the opportunity to inspire and mentor volunteers within our bid and tender team, making a positive impact together. Join us on this exciting journey!
Key Duties and Responsibilities will include:
- Overall responsibility for delivering high-quality, accurate, compliant and commercially sound proposals on time, to budget, with inputs from key stakeholders.
- Responsible for the coordination and management of all Bid activities, for ensuring that Bid Plans are put in place and that all internal inputs are received promptly to meet Bid submission timescales.
- Responsible for the receipt, management, control and coordination of all external and internal information and documentation with respect to the enquiry and for the team acting as custodian for Bid documents, including all approved internal documentation signed by the Organisation.
- Responsible for compliance with all internal Bid policies and procedures and for passing internal and external audits.
- Contribute to the overall Bid strategy alongside other stakeholders.
- Responsible for the overall leadership of the team and ensuring that individuals within the team are given appropriate opportunities to grow and develop, and that the team maximises performance by creating and fostering a positive, can-do attitude and outlook on an ongoing basis.
- Responsibility to ensure that improvements are identified and those agreed upon are implemented continuously to support the growth and development of the team and those within it.
- There is a need to keep good records and to create and measure metrics on bidding performance to both review performance and drive continuous improvement in a key area of the business.
- Responsible for mentoring and training Bid Managers and Bid Writers to ensure they are up to date with bid requirements and improve their competence.
What are we looking for?
Education, Skills and Experience: Requirements
Essential:
- At least three years of experience in successfully leading teams within a bid environment.
- Proven track record of improvement and achievement - processes and people
- Keen understanding of numbers, spreadsheets, VOP/invoices, rates, cash flow, milestones, negotiations, and pricing audits.
- Ability to write strong proposals and experience as an estimator
- Excellent communicator (written and verbal) with local and international customers, and with an appreciation of cultural differences
- Ability to persuade and influence others
- Ability to lead team by example, with the ability to foster and maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders
- Ability to work to deadlines
- Strong business/commercial acumen
- Keen attention to detail
- Commercially sound judgement
- Strong negotiation skills.
- Strong financial skills
Desirable:
- Leadership qualification (CMI or ILM)
- Experience with an integrated project management / ERP system (Enterprise Resource Planning)
- Experience in bidding roles in the Medical, Biochemistry, Biomedical, Public Services, Global Health, Humanitarian, NGOs, Public Health and Social Care industry
- MBA, Professional Qualification or formal leadership Qualification (CMI, ILM)
What difference will you make?
In this exciting role, you will lead the strategic process for winning new business through competitive bids, tenders, and proposals, ultimately elevating AHO's success. Your specialised knowledge of bids will enhance our win rates and maximise revenue by bringing clarity, quality, and coordination to what can be a complex, high-stakes journey.
Your primary mission is to boost AHO's tender win rates and strengthen our strategic advantage. By diligently overseeing each step of the bidding process—from initial evaluation to final submission—you will significantly improve the quality and persuasion of our proposals, directly increasing our chances of securing valuable contracts.
You'll provide key insights to help AHO target the most promising opportunities by implementing a thoughtful "bid/no-bid" process. This approach will ensure we focus only on lucrative and winnable contracts that closely align with our strategic goals, ultimately saving time and resources and allowing us to prioritise high-potential projects.
In this role, you will orchestrate a well-coordinated process that drives operational efficiency. As the central point of contact, you will gather input from diverse internal teams—sales, finance, legal, and technical—ensuring everyone collaborates smoothly to meet critical deadlines.
As a leader, you'll elevate the quality of our bid content. By overseeing the creation of compelling, polished materials, you'll ensure our final submissions are professional, cohesive, and error-free. You will utilise a centralised content library containing valuable resources, such as case studies and CVs, to streamline efforts and enhance our proposals.
You will keep projects on track by developing detailed project plans and timelines, ensuring all tasks are completed on time—especially critical in the fast-paced environment of tender submissions. Your effective management will ease colleagues' workloads, allowing the entire team to shine.
To foster long-term business growth, you'll create a wealth of knowledge around our tenders and bids. By conducting insightful post-submission debriefs and analysing feedback, you will capture invaluable lessons from both successes and setbacks. This ongoing improvement process will enhance our bidding capabilities for future opportunities.
You also have the opportunity to enhance AHO's brand reputation by submitting well-organised, accurate, and compliant bids. By doing so, you'll showcase our professionalism and reliability to clients, building trust and solidifying our credible standing in the market.
Strategic alignment is vital for sustaining consistent, stable business growth. Together, we can make a remarkable impact on development.
Applicants must submit a CV and a cover letter explaining how they meet the role description and the person specification.
Interviews will be arranged and conducted via Microsoft Teams.
Interview dates are agreed with the applicant.
Non Charity Employer
21 - 50
To promote equity in health, to combat disease, and to improve the quality of, and lengthen, the lives of the people in Africa and the Diaspora.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.